WHY DON’T RADIO STATIONS PLAY MY SONG? – A Songwriter’s FAQ

                Why don’t they play my song? It’s very good, at least that’s what my mother said so!

 That was my question back then, when I was still clueless about what is really going on in the music industry. Back when I was very much unaware of the business side of music, I was a young, idealistic, singer-songwriter who only wished to hear his songs everywhere he goes—in public transport, establishments, and households.

Fast-forward to the present, now I am very privileged, lucky, you can say, to have a sort of “dual citizenship” in the music world, at least here in the Philippines. Aside from being a songwriter, I’m also working in a radio station. So I see both sides of the coin. On one hand, there are the music content providers—the composers, record companies, indie labels, and recording artists. And on the other side, there are those who provide the medium for the music to be heard, at least traditionally— i.e. radio stations. And I am very, very lucky to belong to both worlds.

As such, I understand and share the frustration and heartaches of many artists, songwriters, and album producers in not having their songs air on the radio. But on the other hand, I also understand the position of radio stations and why they don’t play ALL songs submitted to them. Aside from the obvious limitations (i.e. we only have 24 hours right?), there are certain considerations in choosing which songs to air that unfortunately, the songwriters or even the album producers are seemingly not aware of. So hopefully, this humble article will shed some light—and more importantly, give “clues” to songwriters on how they can actually use certain elements in increasing the possibility of their songs to air in radio stations.

Dichotomy of Radio Stations in the Philippines

In the Philippines, there exists a "dichotomy" of radio stations. That is, you can classify radio stations in the country into two groups. One is what we call HIGH END. These stations cater to the Filipinos who are in the "higher bracket" of economic classes. Simply put, they appeal to the rich and the upper-middle class.  Filipinos in this bracket enjoy the "American" style of radio programming, that is, the DJ’s speak in English and they play Billboard Top 40 music.  Currently, these radio stations belong in this group:

Magic 89.9

Wave 89.1

RX93.1

Mellow Touch 94.7

Jam 88.3 and others.

The other group is, of course, the LOW END. This type of radio stations cater to the general masses. These are the radio stations that belong in this group:  

90.7 Love Radio                 93.9 iFM

101.1 Yes FM                    101.9 Tambayan  

91.5 Big Radio                   107.5 Win Radio

102.7 Star FM                    103.5 Wow FM and others

The low end stations can be easily recognized, the jocks use Tagalog as medium, they play recorded jokes and their music format is called Hot Young Adult Contemporary. Or simply put, amix of old and current popular songs, including OPM.

By the way, the frequencies of the above-mentioned radio stations are for Manila only, and they may vary in the south/provinces (that is, most of the radio stations I mentioned have local/provincial counterparts too).

Now notice that I used the word “cater”. Because that is precisely what radio stations do, they SERVE what the audience wants. Therefore, the songs that radio stations play are actually dictated by the preferences of their respective “customers”.

What does all this hoolabaloo have to do with songwriting? A LOT.  If you are a songwriter, it is very helpful to identify what the different “customers” of the radio stations look for. While I already talked about the elements that you can add to your song to make it more “radio friendly” in my free ebook THE SECRETS OF RADIO HIT SONGS AND 10 TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN USE THEM WHEN WRITING YOUR OWN SONGS (you can get it for FREE just by subscribing to this blog, i.e. enter your name and email address), it is also helpful to understand the preferences of the listeners of the two kinds of radio stations.

Likewise, it is also good to review and analyze your own song as to its “appeal”. If your song sounds “too Foreign” or too technical, chances are it won’t get played on Low End stations. What do I mean with “too Foreign”? I AM NOT REFERRING TO THE QUALITY OF THE PRODUCTION OR THE RECORDING OF THE SONG. Some people might mistake foreign sounding for high quality. I beg to disagree. There are many locally-produced songs of high quality.

So what do I mean with “too Foreign” sounding? Well, it could be the topic of your song, the idioms and some insinuations in it that many Filipinos (the general masses) may not be able to relate to. To give an example, the songs by U2, Nelly Furtado, John Mayer, among others, are very good, excellently made and of very high quality. That is why their songs are mainstays in many high end stations. However, many Filipinos who belong to the C,D,E classes are not able to relate with them, that is why you never hear them in Low End Stations.

Low End radio station audiences enjoy listening to catchy songs. They don’t care much about the technicality of the song, the riffs, the chord-shifts, etc. They only want to be ENTERTAINED. And by entertainment, I mean singing along with the song, relating to the lyrics or the story, and being able to ride the emotional journey it provides. The name of the game in Low End stations is how catchy is your song. How much of it sticks to the listeners after hearing the song means a lot.

                Does that mean a “high end” song will never ever air in a Low End station? NO! There are several instances that prove the contrary. Some songs initially aired over High End stations but were later on picked up by Low End stations simply because the general masses embraced them. This “phenomenon” is what we refer to as “CROSSOVER”.

                There are many hit songs that made the crossover from High End Stations to Low End ones. Here are just some of them:

You’re Beautiful (James Blunt)  

Billionaire (Travis McCoy feat. Bruno Mars)

I’m Yours (Jason Mraz)                            

This Love (and other Maroon 5 songs)

Just The Way You Are (Bruno Mars)       

Someone Like You (Adele)

Yeah! (Usher)     

Where Is The Love (and other Black Eyed Peas)

And many, many more.

There are also several OPM songs that started airing in High-end radio stations and also ended up airing in Low end ones, such as:

The Day You Said Goodnight (Hale)

The Way You Look At Me (Christian Bautista)

Jealous (Nina)    

A Little Bit (MYMP)

Wag Na Wag Mong Sasabihin (Kitchie Nadal)

And more.

What made the “crossover” possible? Well, there are several factors like the frequency of airing of the songs. Sometimes, when a song is played frequently, it gets stuck to your head. Another reason is the totality of the song itself. It may be foreign sounding in that the lyrics is not too Filipino, but the melody is SUPER CATCHY, so much so that any radio listener would quickly grasp it. Ever heard of “Baby” by Justin Bieber? Love it or hate it, IT JUST STICKS TO YOUR HEAD! Or the current hit by Taylor Swift, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”—even if a listener from the Low End station doesn’t understand the lyrics, what the heck the song is so EASY TO RECALL. That says it all.

So if you’re still wondering why your songs don’t air over the radio, maybe it’s time to analyze them and compare vis-à-vis the ones you hear all over. Maybe your song doesn’t fit the format of the station. Or maybe your material is not really radio-friendly to begin with. And if you’ll ask again, “what is ‘radio friendly’ in the first place?”, then I suggest you get my free Ebook, just sign up to this blog.

Keep on writing songs!

May you be successful in your musical venture,

Robster Evangelista

P.S.

Get my Ebook THE SECRETS OF RADIO HIT SONGS AND 10 TIPS ON HOW YOU CAN USE THEM WHEN WRITING YOUR OWN SONGS for FREE!!! Just sign up on the upper left corner of this blog or below and you will receive an email with instructions on how you can download my FREE EBOOK.